Impact by Regions, Countries & Territories

UNDP’s Global Programme supports crisis-affected contexts across all regions to strengthen the rule of law and human rights. In this section, we present five regional overviews, detailing our priorities and approach depending on the context, as well as feature select country and territory results from 2021.

Five contexts from the list (Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Mali and Yemen) illustrate the achievements of the Global Focal Point for the Rule of Law (GFP). In peacekeeping missions and transition settings, UNDP’s Global Programme works through the GFP to deliver integrated assistance with our UN partners.

GFP Global Focal Point Highlights

Syria

In Syria, UNDP supported early recovery to address the impact of the ongoing crisis and to make humanitarian needs less acute.

To facilitate resolution of disputes and provide legal services to vulnerable communities, UNDP undertook research to analyse the types of rights-based community mediation that exist in the country and are culturally acceptable. Based on this knowledge, UNDP developed and piloted a model of collaborative dispute resolution (CDR), an out-of-court remedy that expedites social cohesion. In 2021, out of 115 cases submitted, 96 cases were considered involving 305 beneficiaries. In 91 cases, intermediaries were able to resolve all the contested issues.

The service will be expanded in 2022 and made available to more individuals seeking dispute resolution. UNDP increased its support to ensure that people in Syria have access to legal aid and justice services. A number of long-term interventions were launched, and measures taken to ensure their sustainability. UNDP directly implemented its legal aid projects and reached 6,064 individuals (including 4,851 women) who benefitted from legal awareness. Additional 1,476 people (including 885 women) were provided with legal counselling. The topics included personal status law, marriage, housing, land and property (HLP) rights. In 2021, UNDP arranged trainings for 750 law students (48 percent women) from law schools in Homs, Latakia, Hasakeh, Dier Ezzor, Da’raa and Rural Damascus. In the future, these professionals will provide legal services online, facilitate collaborative dispute resolution and engage in other activities. Finally, an online legal aid programme will become operational in the second quarter of 2022 to enable safe access to legal information for vulnerable groups.

UNDP continued to provide various complementary forms of support to the protection of housing, land, and property rights for those displaced or affected by violent conflict across Syria. UNDP developed three guidance notes to equip international community actors, local civil society organizations (CSOs), local leaders and community members with tools and knowledge to verify HLP violations and engage in protection of HLP rights for vulnerable groups, with a special focus on women. The guidance notes, to be published in 2022, cover gender and HLP, mine actions and HLP, and debris management. A number of thematic thought papers on HLP issues were produced in Syria with UNDP’s support. In addition, UNDP supported the translation of 22 relevant HLP laws from Arabic to English and completed a legal trend analysis to map major changes in the legislative frameworks that affected HLP rights both before and during the conflict.

Collaborative dispute training
A training on the collaborative dispute resolution mechanism in Syria.Photo: UNDP
Collaborative dispute training other photo
A training on the collaborative dispute resolution mechanism in Syria.Photo: UNDP

Key Results: Syria

96 out of 115 cases submitted for collaborative dispute resolution were accepted, involving 305 beneficiaries, including 96 women. In 91 cases, intermediaries were able to resolve all the contested issues.

With its legal aid projects, UNDP reached 6,064 individuals (including 4,851 women) who benefitted from legal awareness. An additional 1,476 people (including 885 women) were provided with legal counselling.

Seven workshops were organized for 750 law students (48% women) in law schools in Hasakeh, Dier Ezzor, Da’raa, Rural Damascus.